Prislop Monastery

Placed in Hunedoara county, surrounded by fantastic scenery, Prislop Monastery has been a convent for nuns since 1976, having as patron Saint John the Evangelist (Sfântul Apostol și Evanghelist Ioan Teologul). It is said to have been built by master-builder Nicodim (later sanctified) in the XIV-th century. He also had built the monasteries Tismana and Vodiţa in Wallachia. On the other hand, the "triconic" style from Prislop Monastery is unique in Transylvania.

The most valuable belonging of the monastery is the wonder-worker icon of the Virgin Mary, donated by lady Zamfira in 1580.

Being burnt in 1762 and belonging for almost two centuries to the the Greek-Catholic Romanian Church, the church was returned to the Orthodox Church in 1948, and under the leadership of Father Arsenie Boca it was reorganized and rebuilt to today's form.

More information and photos can be found here and a video here.

Cinciş Sunken Village

The Cinciş/Teliuc lake is an artificial lake in Poiana Ruscă Mountains, built in 1962 by the communist regime to provide drinkable and industrial water. Around 800 families and many of the buried were displaced and the entire Cinciş village was sunken. When the water level is low enough one of the old churches can be seen - it has been mentioned in old documents since the year 1360.

The place is wonderful and peaceful, ideal for relaxation (the motor boats and skijets are not allowed on the lake). Swimming, scuba diving and fishing are also common pastimes but some stories tell about the place being haunted (because the sunken village had three churches and a cemetery) and cursed - it is said that every year somebody dies drowned and the body can not be found.

The location on Google Maps and here are some of my photos:

And while some churches had been destroyed, some are being restored, such as the one from the nearby Ghelari village:

Densuş Church

All around Transylvania there are old churches dating back to the middle ages, most of them being built between XIV-th and XVI-th century and having fortifications.

Nearby Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, there is one of the oldest churches in today's Romania - the church from the Densuş village, with St.Nicholas as patron (from this village came the remarkable Densușianu family, with members such as Nicolae Densușianu and Ovid Densuşianu). There are different opinions about the history of the church, but it is said to have been built in the VII-th century, on the site of a roman temple from the II-nd century A.D. with its present form dating back to the XIII-th century. The valuable paintings were made by Ștefan Zugravul in 1443.

Some more information regarding this old and mysterious church can be found here and on RomanianMonasteries.org, while the exact location is this. Taking photos inside the church is forbidden (so you can buy some representing the old paintings from the local priest) but here are some pictures of the church and its suroundings:

Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa

The ruins of the roman colony Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa can be found 40km away from the dacian capital of Sarmizegetusa Regia, on the romanian national road 68 between Haţeg and Caransebeş, in the comune of Sarmizegetusa - here. Across the street there is also the museum that hosts many of the archaeological findings.

There is a small entrance fee and a bigger one for photos (10RON) or videos (30RON) but the ruins are placed among the village's fields and can be accessed from country roads too, avoiding the main entrance ;) .

The city was founded by the governor Decimus Terentius Scaurianus and it became the capital of the Dacian Colony. The flourishing city had a strategic position, beeing at the border of the Roman Empire. The romans suffered attacks by the free dacians, the marcomanni, the goths and during the rule of Emperor Aurelian the army and the officials retreated across the Danube. The city continued its existence with a smaller population, living in the abandoned palaces and defending themselves against the migrating people from inside the fortified amphitheatre, probably until the invasion of the Huns.

There are still diggings underway at the site, and among the ruins one can see the amphitheatre, the gladiator school, temples dedicated to different gods, such as Nemesis, Silvanus, Liber Pater, Aesculap and Hygieia, the Big Temple dedicated to an unknown god, the glass blowers' workshops, the financial procurator's office, the thermae and the forum.

Some more information can be found here and some of my photos follow:

- the Forum

- workshops and temple

- the amphitheatre